Many people will waste the bank Holiday by spring cleaning

Nearly a third of all Brits will spend the Bank Holiday spring cleaning their homes with one in eight also planning to take rubbish to the tip.

Published:15:00Sunday 01 May 2016

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Nearly a third of all Brits will spend the Bank Holiday spring cleaning their homes with one in eight also planning to take rubbish to the tip.

A YouGov poll of nearly 2000 adults found that millions will waste their Bank Holiday weekends carrying out tedious household chores such as loading the car with rubbish and driving it to the nearest refuse centre.

Now Brits are being urged to save themselves valuable family time while helping charities and the environment by giving away unwanted items from the comfort of their own home using a new app called Gone for Good.

The revolutionary free smartphone app allows consumers to simply upload a photograph of unwanted items. It then finds local charities to collect them directly from people’s homes.

Users can upload any item. But the app is particularly useful for people such as movers and downsizers who want to get rid of bigger items of furniture – such as sofas - and do not want to pay costly disposal fees or take them to the dump.

Following a successful pilot in Greater Manchester, the social enterprise has now rolled out the service across the UK and has already raised thousands of pounds for charities.

Gone for Good aims to help charities raise vital funds and stop unwanted items ending up in landfill. Major charity partners include the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, DEBRA, Sue Ryder and Mind.

The app matches users with participating charities in their postcode, who actively want to receive resaleable items and will collect them for free.

Mark Charnock, managing director, said: “It is sad that so many of us spend their Bank Holidays doing tedious household chores such as going to the tip.

“Gone for Good is a quick and easy way of getting rid of unwanted belongings with a simple click of your smartphone. It not only helps charities to boost their income but prevents thousands of usable goods from being dumped in landfill every year.

“The app is particularly useful for people moving home as it allows them to get rid of larger items – such as sofas and tables - to good causes for free. We want you to release your Bank Holiday from chores and invest it in family time instead by placing your unwanted stuff on Gone for Good”.

Kate Muir, Lettings Manager for Reeds Rains, City Living, in Manchester, said: “Gone for Good is brilliant. The app is a really easy way of getting rid of unwanted belonging such as furniture while ensuring they go to a good cause in the process. I have a client who saved themselves more than £150 in removal costs by using Gone for Good. I now recommend it to my clients and all my friends.”